Gift Yourself this Year!

Recently, I participated in an event put on by a client at a local hospital. It was geared toward creating awareness about “compassion fatigue” in the nurse’s unit. We called it the Rejuvenation Spa Day.

Compassion fatigue is a term that relates to the stress of being a  caregiver and dealing with other people’s trauma on a regular basis. The American Institute of Stress defines Compassion Fatigue as: “Also called “vicarious traumatization” or secondary traumatization (Figley, 1995). The emotional residue or strain of exposure to working with those suffering from the consequences of traumatic events. It differs from burn-out, but can co-exist. Compassion Fatigue can occur due to exposure on one case or can be due to a “cumulative” level of trauma.”

Nurses, in particular, are at risk for compassion fatigue because they often have to deal with life threatening situations on a daily basis. And, unless they have a plan in place to get the support they need to deal with their experiences in a healthy way, have strategies to take care of their own emotional, mental and physical needs and understand the consequences of not doing so, they often are unaware of the negative impact it leaves on their own health and well-being.

At Rejuvenation Spa Day, there was a massage booth, Ayurvedic facial massage, chiropractic assessments, ear acupressure and I offered hand relexology. The local CSA farm was also present, with a juicing table and the organizer created a lovely display of healthy, nutritious snack including herbal nutballs and chia seed pudding. There were gift bags and a grand prize raffle. I spent the weekend before creating lots of luscious body care goodies to go in those gift bags!

The response was overwhelming. The nurses soaked up all the relaxation, stress-relieving and revitalizing offerings and the excitement in the air was palpable! It was  really fulfilling to me to be able to take part in helping to create such an amazing experience. But what I loved the most was taking someone’s hand in my own and watching how, in the course of a few minutes, their stress melted away and they opened up to a relaxing, restorative experience –  allowing themselves to be supported and nurtured in a small step toward more optimal health and wellness.

Nurses are not the only people affected by compassion fatigue, however, and they definitely are not alone in their need for greater self care skills. Self care is one of the most important aspects of the work that I do with women, in particular. Most women are very good care-givers, but not so great at self care. Caring for others often comes naturally and mothers, especially, often put their children and everyone else before themselves. Women in this situation are at high risk of burn-out and compassion fatigue.

Most of us are familiar with the concept of filling our own cup before we can have anything to give to another. But I like to take it one step further – not only does your own cup need to be full, it needs to be overflowing, because the overflow is what you have to give away. Until your cup of self care is overflowing, you cannot truly care for another without depleting yourself in the process.

So, this holiday season, give yourself the gift of self care.

If you’d like to know more about the work I do with women around self care, you might be interested in my upcoming Women’s Wellness Retreat: Refresh, Revitalize & Rejuvenate!